Current Research

A primary focus of my lab's research is on how temperature affects infectious diseases, using the amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis, snail-borne parasites  of amphibians (e.g., Ribeiroia ondatrae), and snail-borne parasites of birds & humans (Trichobilharzia & Schistosoma spp.) as model systems. This work was funded by a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation (IOS-1651888).

Core questions:

• How can we distinguish the effects of temperature on parasite infectivity versus host resistance to infection?

• How do host and parasite thermal acclimation responses influence disease outcomes?

The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) postulates that all physiological and ecological rates are fundamentally limited by organism metabolic rates. These in turn scale predictably with body mass and temperature. My lab is exploring ways to apply MTE-derived mathematical models to describe the temperature-dependence of host and parasite metabolic rates, in the hope of developing better models of infectious disease dynamics. This work was funded by a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation (IOS-1651888).

Core question:

• Can we use metabolic proxies (e.g., respiration rate, swimming speed) to generate predictive models of host-parasite interactions in variable-temperature environments?

Snail-borne trematode parasites of birds sometimes accidentally try to infect human swimmers, resulting in nasty itchy rashes wherever they try to penetrate the skin. Swimmer's itch is a big problem in MI inland lakes, and my lab has started tackling outstanding questions about the ecology of these parasites. This work was primarily funded by private donations from local lake associations, and a grant from the Michigan Swimmer's Itch Partnership.

Core questions:

• What are the primary ecological drivers that lead to high levels of swimmer's itch at some lakes but not others?

• How do changes in temperature, wind, and water currents influence daily variation in swimmer's itch risk?

• Strategies to reduce swimmer's itch occurrence in MI lakes.

In 2017-2018 we conducted a state-wide survey investigating drivers of harmful algal blooms in MI inland lakes, in collaboration with Dr. David Szlag in the OU Chemistry Department. Harmful algal blooms are caused by toxin-producing cyanobacteria (i.e., "blue-green algae"). This work was funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

See the project site for more details:

2017-2018 HAB survey